#may carleton

“Good luck taking care of yourself.” Those were the last words May heard before leaving to take her first teaching job amongst the rural landscape of a forgotten town. It hadn’t been a popular decision with her family and friends who begged her to reconsider the offer from a prestigious girls’ school out of state. However, May was determined to make a difference someplace where kids grew up with half as much, believing she could build something out of dust. 

On the first day of school, she reminded herself of her purpose, affixing a yellow post it to her computer monitor that read, “Be the teacher you needed when you were their age.” It would be her first misstep within this group of cynical teens who made it their mission to break her. Over the next few weeks, things went from bad to worse as they tested her resolve with swears and threats of guns hidden in lockers. The final straw was a list of insults scrawled across her classroom door.

Hypocrite

Slut

Bitch

“They don’t want me here,” she cried into the phone the moment her sister picked up. 

“They’ve probably watched a lot of teachers leave before you. So why should they trust you’ll stick around?,” came the frank reply, adding that she wouldn’t blame May if she didn’t finish out the year. 

But May was tenacious, digging in for the sake of one bright boy named Tommy Shelby. He always showed up wearing black, tugging his hood over his head as he took a seat in the last row. His file revealed the cruelty of the past few years, losing his mother and seeing his father locked in the state penn for her murder. May was certain Tommy could be a writer if his daddy hadn’t left all this hell for him. He had a unique way of expressing his thoughts, once writing that “shame is sharp and my skin gives so easy.”

"I think you should enter the creative writing contest," May informed him after class. "Your stories are very good. Have you or your siblings won in the past?" she asked, attempting to put the nervous teen at ease with a bit of praise.

“My older brother bagged the valedictorian,” he quipped with a sarcastic nonchalance that told May he was resigned to failure. He wouldn't enter the contest that year or the next. With quiet fortitude, May continued to champion his education, slipping him information about college scholarships, but he vanished the day after graduation.

She resolved to leave open her most quiet door, hoping for his return, but Tommy had already chosen Army life. It was then May learned she was better off to let go in God's country, where her guidance was of little consequence. After that, the road was longer than it was hard.

It was over a decade before another Shelby walked through her door. Tommy's half brother, Vinnie, was every bit the talented poet his sibling was. Not only did he win the writing contest every year until graduation, he was also awarded a prestigious scholarship.

After university, Vinnie wrote about the harrowing details of his life in several novels. He dedicated his first published work to May with four simple lines which brought her immense comfort.

"I am here and changed

I couldn't tell you how

It was harder then

How it will work:

I want to make a book which will look like a master list. You will write a one shot, drabble, or create a moodboard, and post it on June 25th. For any writing, I want it to truly celebrate love and affection. So, I would ask that you stick to fluff oriented themes. You are more than welcome to write smut, but definitely focus and tune in on the emotional aspect. Same for Moodboards.

The work will be entirely yours and 100% credited to you. I will simply link it to an index, properly crediting you. I only ask that you clearly state that it was part of a collaboration and tag me. One, for I can find it and two, for we can really zoom into the fact that this was a community effort. I, however, take no ownership of your work.

To join, just DM me and let me know. I will remind you June 15th. I also ask that you please, please do not blow me off. At least message me that you are unable to commit. I won't be mad.

Specifics:

All work, visual and written, cannot be AI generated. They all also need to be created separate from any multi-chapter/on going series. Please no previously written entries as well. I would really love this to be disconnected from anything previous.

For one shots, they do not have to be long. I consider one-shots anything 750 words and above. Drabbles, I consider 100-749. I know those are not the traditional 'rules', but that is what I go by.

For Moodboards, feel free to use any template you'd like! You can find many on Canva. You can also create your own.

You can use any Peaky lady below~

Lastly, I ask that you kindly proofread. I am not fussed about a typo or anything, I just have a personal pet peeve when people disclaim that they didn't proof read.

Aside from that:

Please properly tag, use proper warnings, and if it's not a whole lot to ask, please add a gif or edit for a header/banner. <3

Other than that, I am not fussed.

End thoughts:

On the 26th, I will create the "book" and properly tag everyone. You can feel free to ask me all and any questions. I will tag them #peakyblinderswlwcollab . The slots will look as such: One Shots(xReader): 15 slots available as of 05/25 Drabbles(xReader): 10 slots available as of 05/25 Moodboards(xReader): 10 slots available as of 05/25 One Shots (xOC): 7 slots available as of 05/25

You can feel free to submit up to 1 entry for each category.

Above all, I hope everyone feels excited and inspired, and will have fun taking part in this project. I know that I am pretty excited. :)

I want to stress that everyone and anyone is welcomed to join. We don't have to be mutuals or friends or anything. We don't even have to be following each other. This is open to everyone 18+.

Tagging some people that may be interested or wouldn't mind sharing the project. No pressure on either end.